She's a girl She's different
by Lync Jacqueline
Summary: What do you think would have happened if Sephiroth and Zack found a fem Cloud in the reactor instead of Jenova? Cloud doesn't remember anything from her past before the reactor incident. It's up to Sephiroth and Zack to protect her from Hojo and help her remember her past.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of them...wish I did, but I don't.**

Sephiroth and Zack had been assigned to Mount Nibel to investigate a series of monster attacks. They had lost their guide along the way to the reactor, so they had to reach there on their own. It had been a causal day, with Zack going on and on about Aerith and Sephiroth trying to tune the young boy out…yep, everything was going fine, even the fact that they had lost their guide didn't faze them and they believed that nothing would, that was until they reached the reactor.

They had reached the reactor and were utterly shocked at what they had found; inside a glass tank was a blonde girl submerged in mako. She had an oxygen mask on and floated in the mako with her hand crossed over her bare chest and a broad tube ran from her abdomen to the bottom of the tank.

"What in the name of Gaia is that?!" Zack asked utterly horrified.

"Another one of Hojo's experiments no doubt." Sephiroth answered, examining the unconscious young girl in the tank. The next thing he knew, there was a crack on the glass "What are you doing?" Sephiroth asked as he realized the crack was due to the impact of Zack's board sword.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm busting her outta here!" He answered, slamming the sword on the tank, causing the mako to sip out.

"You don't even know who that is or what it is." Sephiroth said as calmly as he could, gripping onto Zack's wrist to prevent him from doing anymore damage.

"Let go Sephy. There is no way in the world I'm gonna let another kid fall victim to another one of Hojo's twisted experiment." Zack yelled furiously.

Sephiroth, ignoring the nickname, opened his mouth to speak. 'Crack' the pressure on the fractured glass was already too much then 'smash' the glass shattered. Sephiroth and Zack jumped away just in time, preventing the mako from slashing all over them.

The body of the young girl unhooked from the tube and fell lifeless to the ground. Sephiroth and Zack stood still for a moment. Zack raised his sword and Sephiroth's hand hovered over the hilt of Masamune, both expecting the girl to jump up and strike.

"Hm" She moaned, making Sephiroth grasp onto the hilt of Masamune and Zack take a battle stance. She stirred, then slowly raised her head and opened her eyes to meet the mako green cat-like orbs of Sephiroth. Mako green eyes instantly met with bright and beautiful mako blue ones making Sephiroth and Zack gasped in shock at the color of her eyes.

"H…Help" She begged faintly, stretching out a pale hand and tears forming in her beautiful eyes. Sephiroth snapped out of the initial shock then ran to the girl's side; he took off his long leather jacket and covered the girl before sitting her up. Zack snapped out of the shock seconds later and joined Sephiroth.

"She's so cold" Sephiroth said. The girl rested her head on Sephiroth's firm chest; taking shaky breaths, she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped onto Sephiroth jacket like as if her life depended on it.

"We have to get her to the hospital." Zack said.

"Not only does she have a large hole on abdomen, but she's cold." Sephiroth muttered under his breath. "Quickly Zachary, we must leave now or the chances of her survival will be narrowed down drastically." Sephiroth informed. He picked the girl up bridal style and immediately stood; with Zack behind him, he leaped cat-like away with the survival of the girl on his mind.

They had reached the car. They infantrymen stood to salute them but stop shortly after seeing the young girl in their general's arms

"Drive us to the nearest hospital." He ordered, getting in with the girl in his arms.

"S…S…Sir…" One of the infantrymen began.

"Just drive!" Zack yelled, jumping into the back with Sephiroth and the girl.

"Yes sir" The infantrymen said fearfully and ran into the car. They started the engine and backed off quickly before zooming out of Nibelheim.

"Hey kid." Zack called. "What's your name?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Zachary, leave her be. Don't put further strain on her body" Sephiroth said keeping his face expressionless.

She stirred a bit in Sephiroth's arm. "C…C…Cloud" She muttered softly before going limp in Sephiroth's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud hadn't woken up since they had taken her to the hospital, at Nibelheim and even when they arrived at Shinra. She hadn't even stirred and Zack had been watching her closely for the past thirty minutes. Zack had stayed with her when they had taken her to the hospital in the outskirts of Nibelheim, where they had stitched up the hole on her abdomen, and he refused to leave her side even after they transported her to Shinra for additional treatment. When Sephiroth had asked him why he wouldn't leave her alone, he simply answered, 'I_ want my face to be the first she sees when she wakes up, duh." _

"Hm…She's kinda pretty." Zack thought to himself, tugging on one of her spikes idly. "Your hair reminds me of a Chocobo's ass." Zack grinned and then tugged her hair a little harder. "You have Chocobo ass hair." He said with a sing song voice, still tugging her hair.

"Hm" She stirred.

"Oh my deity" Zack exclaimed, falling off the chair and then backing away from Cloud. "I didn't mean it, I swear" He said nervously. He had hit something soft and when he looked up he saw Angeal frowning down at him, he looked to the side and saw Sephiroth raising a questioning brow at him.

"Seriously Zack, how many times have I told you to stop messing around with the patients?" Angeal asked.

"Um…Nine?" He answered unsure.

"Fifteen times Zack, fifteen times" Angeal sighed.

"Um…Chocobo ass hair" Sephiroth mused.

Zack chuckled. "But it's da truth" He said as a matter of fact.

"Excuse me" A young doctor said "I'm here to wake Miss Cloud up"

"Jay!" Zack cheered with his hands in the air before getting off the floor and running to her side.

The doctor went to Cloud's side and injected something into her, through her left arm. He saw the confused look on Zack's face as he peered down on her injected arm. "It will wake her up" The doctor explained.

"Oh" Zack said

_"__Cloud honey, Cloud" A young blonde woman called, spreading her arms out to receive the incoming child._

_"__Mommy" Young Cloud shrieked with excitement before jumping into her arms._

_"__Let's go. Today I promise I'll read you a book, 'kay" The woman said and then nuzzled the little girl's neck, making her chuckle. _

"So warm…So peaceful" Cloud thought as she stood from afar and watched them.

_"__How could you? What is wrong with you" The same blonde woman from earlier yelled in frustration at young Cloud. They stood face to face in a dimly lit room, it looked like a living room and this time Cloud stood at the door way._

_"__B…But I didn't do anything; it was all Tifa's fault…Honest" Young Cloud said between sobs._

_"__Shut up! Please just be quiet!" Her mom yelled furiously at her._

"What's wrong?" Cloud whispered, and then suddenly there was silence. It was like as if everything had paused and she started falling…Falling into blackness. "Ah!" She shrieked in fear.

_"__Don't disappoint me" Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed all around her._

_"__I'm gonna be a SOLDIER, just you wait and see." Another voice, a child's, said._

"Aaaaaaaaah!" Cloud screamed in pain.

_"__SOLDIER? You? Don't make me laugh…Specially selected…Mako infusion…Poisoning…Jenova" Some many voices echoed at once._

"Stop!" Cloud cried. She suddenly became cold, freezing in fact, and she hugged herself in an attempt to generate heat. She began sobbing and then almost immediately, everything stopped. The last thing Cloud saw was a bright light that engulfed everything.

Cloud woke up to a beeping sound and Zack's cheerful voice, she had a nasty headache and her body ached, most especially her abdomen. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Zack standing by her bed.

"Hi sleepy head!" He greeted her too cheerfully for her liking. She gripped her forehead in pain and looked around.

She realized that she was in a hospital and the beeping sound was coming from a heart monitoring machine. Three other men were present in the room; one had black hair that was combed backwards and out of his face and he looked a little like the one standing by her side, only that the one beside her had spiky hair combed backwards and looked younger. Another one had long silver hair and the hair at the front fell to either side of his face, and the last person there was the doctor who had brown hair and wore a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck.

"How do you feel?" The doctor asked. Cloud stared at him, then at Zack, then Sephiroth, then at the last man there and finally the doctor again.

"Are you sure she understands English?" The older man with black hair asked.

"Of course she does, Angeal… I think." Zack answered

"My head aches and my body hurts." She answered softly to everyone's surprise.

"Oh that's normal. We'll give you some drugs to help with the aches." The doctor said. He looked through the bed etiquette; nodding to himself before he left the room.

"Hi Cloud!" Zack said cheerfully, going in close to look her in the eyes.

"H…How did you know my name?" She asked shyly, moving into the bed to put a distance between Zack and herself.

"Zachary, give the girl some space" Sephiroth said, drawing Cloud's attention. She looked him in his mako green eyes and he looked at her back briefly before breaking contact.

"I'm Zack, that's Angeal and Mister high and mighty there is Sephiroth." Zack introduced, gesturing at all of them.

"Hm…Hi" She said, flashing a small smile at them.

"Don't tell anybody this, but I think you're pretty." Zack whispered loudly, making Sephiroth and Angeal roll their eyes.

"Oh, um, I think you're pretty too?" She said unsure, making Zack chuckle.

"Um, where am I and how did I get here?" She asked.

"You're at the hospital in Shinra HQ." Sephiroth answered. "We found you in a tank at Mount Nibel's reactor." He said further.

"Mount Nibel…How did I get there?" She said. She was quiet for awhile and then gasped in realization. "SOLDIER" She said, jerking off the bed.

"Whoa there" Zack said, holding her in place by her shoulders.

"Jeez, jumpy much?" Angeal asked.

"SOLDIER, What about it?" Sephiroth asked, arching a slender brow and crossing his arms over his chest.

"How long have I been out?" She asked with urgency in her voice.

"Two weeks…Two years" Zack answered, smiling nervously. "The doctors used some kinda of dating machine to determine when you were…"

"Zack" Sephiroth called with a tone of warning, cutting him off.

Cloud's eyes widened in shock, she looked at Zack then at Sephiroth, then Angeal and Zack again. "But…" She began but stopped as she felt tears form in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Angeal asked moving closer to her bed. She looked at him with glassy eyes, and then shrugged Zack's hands roughly off her shoulders before lying back in bed.

"Cloud?" Zack called.


	3. Chapter 3

"Go away." Cloud whimpered, turning to the other side, she dragged the sheets over her head.

"Cloud, are you alright?" Zack asked then he shook her by the shoulder.

"Zack, outside now" Angeal ordered and then the always cheerful SOLDIER followed him outside.

"Zack, I think she needs some time to think." Angeal said, closing the door.

"I'll stay with her." Zack replied quickly.

"You have to take classes." Angeal said sternly.

"Yeah, but who's gonna stay with her. Hojo hates losing his experiments; he'll try to snatch her from the hospital once he finds out she's here." Zack said as matter-of-fact.

"I'll will" Sephiroth answered, making Angeal and Zack look at him in surprise. "Zack's right. We can't lose her before Lazard meets her tomorrow." He said, stepping out of the room before closing the door.

"Aw, I wanted to stay." Zack whined.

"Oh don't worry; she doesn't look like she's taken." Angeal teased. "You'll have tomorrow and a lot more girls to flirt with."

"Sure, whatever. You wouldn't stop me from coming to pick her up" Zack said. "Good luck Sephy" He said, grinning from ear to ear before running down the hall.

Angeal sighed. "We'll be back tomorrow." He said and then went after Zack.

Sephiroth went back into the room and shut the door quietly. He moved closer to Cloud's bed and heard her sobbing softly. He sighed softly then sat down on the chair beside her bed.

"I wonder what Lazard is going to do with her" He thought.

_Flashback_

_After they had reached Shinra, they had gotten her admitted, thanks to the way Sephiroth was feared and respected. The doctors had told them that she needed to undergo surgery, to close the hole on her abdomen that had healed to an extent, thanks to the earlier treatment in Nibelheim._

_"__Fine, just make sure she doesn't die." Sephiroth said to the doctor._

_"__I'm gonna tell Angeal and Genesis." Zack said._

_"__I'll inform Lazard" He said before leaving for their director's office._

_Sephiroth told Lazard everything and that what bothered him was that she had mako eyes. "Mako eyes? A girl?" Lazard asked surprised. It was the most unusual thing he had ever heard; only SOLDIERs possessed mako eyes and as far as he had been around, no girl has ever made it into SOLDIER._

_"__Yes" Sephiroth answered, he himself could not believe what he had seen._

_"__I want to see her the moment she's released from the hospital" Lazard said to Sephiroth who nodded slightly before leaving._

_End of flashback. _

The sky had already turned grey, a sign that a storm was coming. It was already late in the evening and Cloud had long been asleep; the doctor returned moments later after Zack and Angeal had left, he had come to give Cloud sleeping pills and some other drugs to reduce the aches and pain she felt. Sephiroth sat staring outside the window at the clouds; he was starting to feel bored and considered calling someone to switch with him.

"No. You took this responsibility upon yourself." He muttered to himself, shunning the thought. "At least I'm done with the paper work" He said. He sighed then looked at Cloud; she was facing him and some of her hair had fallen over her face, he leaned forward and gently brushed the hair from her face, resting his gloved hand on her porcelain cheek. She stirred slightly under his touch and muttered something incoherent before keeping still. Sephiroth took his hand off her cheek and smirked. "You know, your hair does remind me of a Chocobo buttock."

Hojo screamed furiously. He threw beakers and test tubes everywhere; dumped chemicals on the floor, ripped files and smashed computers. His lab assistants stood and watched, trembling all over, afraid that he would put his anger on them.

"How in the world did you let t…that silver haired bastard and his clown boy make off with experiment Gold zero xii?" Hojo asked his assistants furiously.

"S…S…Sir…Please…" One of them finally found the voice to speak up.

"I don't even want to know, just get it back?" Hojo yelled.

"That's a great leap in this damn mako experiment." He said, spreading his arms out. "You see, her body is able to accept the same amount of Jenova cell as Sephiroth's." He turned around to face his assistance. "And one bastard managed to lose a body in a tank inside a reactor in mount Nibel…We've been breeding that body for six painful years of hard work." He sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose to subdue an oncoming headache. "Get it back or somebody here is going to die and trust me, it wouldn't be me!" He threatened. His assistants stood still non daring to move. "Get out!" Hojo yelled, making them flee in fear.

He sat down on a chair still pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's no telling how external conditions will affect the body…Damn you Sephiroth!" He got up and headed for the door. "Someone should clean up this mess now!" He yelled from the door.

"Y…Yes sir" One of the lab assistants answered, fidgeting at the sound of his voice. "Get the cleaners." He said.

"Idiots" Hojo barked.

Zack held Cloud's wrist, tugging her out of her hospital room. She had been released and Zack was taking her to meet Lazard. Sephiroth had been long gone, to refresh himself for a new day.

"Come on" Zack whined as Cloud refused to move.

"But I'm hungry and I don't want to meet a Lazard." Cloud objected.

"But I wanna show everyone the outfit I picked out for you." He said. "And Genesis says I have no fashion sense." He muttered.

_Flashback_

_Zack ran into the room as soon as Sephiroth was leaving. He flashed one of his smiles at him and then ran to Cloud's side. He held a small bag in his hands, Sephiroth raised a questioning eyebrow at this, Zack just grinned and because he was exhausted, he didn't bother to ask; so he left._

_"__Wake up sleepy head" Zack said, shaking Cloud by the shoulder._

_She stirred a bit before opening her mako infused eyes to meet the ever so cheerful ones of Zack. "What time is it?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes._

_"__Five thirty in the morning!" He answered. "Come on, come on, it's time to meet Lazard!" He said tugging her arm._

_"__Five thirty, who wakes up by that time?" She asked, sitting up and stretching herself. "Who's Lazard?" She asked more alert._

_"__He's our Director, he's gonna help you." Zack said and then held up the bag._

_"__What's that?" She asked, referring to the bag._

_"__You can't meet him wearing hospital clothes now can you?" He said and shoved the bag in her arms before she could object._

_"__But…" she began._

_"__Just change" Zack said._

_"__I don't want to" She objected stubbornly._

_It had taken Zack up to fifteen minutes before he was finally able to convince her to change, and it had taken her thirty minutes to get ready. She walked out of the bathroom in the new knee length black and grey button up dress Zack brought her and she wore a black sweater jacket with a white scarf and brown boots._

_"__You look so cute." Zack said before getting up and heading for the door. "Come on" He said._

_"__I don't want to go" She said, sitting down on the already made bed._

_"__We've been over this" Zack said before walking up to her and grabbing her wrist._

_Now_

"I'll buy you breakfast and Lazard is not mean or scary." He said.

Cloud sighed, clearly out of energy due to the fact that she was still on drugs. "Okay, but you promise you'll buy me breakfast?"

Zack grinned. "Have I ever broken my promise?"

"Jeez, how do you expect me to know, I just met you" She said and Zack chuckled.

Lazard, Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis were seated in the conference room awaiting the arrival of Zack and Cloud. They had arrived twenty minutes earlier; even Sephiroth who stayed on guard during the night had arrived before them.

"So she has mako eyes?" Genesis asked. He was still not able to believe it, so he had to repeat it in order for it to sink in.

"Yes Genesis, we've been over this seven times now." Angeal answered, clearly tired of answering the red haired SOLDIER.

"But I've never heard of a female making SOLDIER…I mean only SOLDIERs are exposed to mako experiments, I for one think it's too rigorous for delicate beings such as females to undergo." Genesis stated.

"That's why we all want to see it for ourselves." Lazard said.

"Oh come on." Zack said as he entered the conference room.

"But Zack…" Cloud whined as she entered, stopping short after seeing all eyes on her. She blushed faintly before following Zack closely.

"Sorry we're late boss, but somebody had to spend an extra ten minutes arguing with me." He said, gesturing at Cloud before he took his seat. Cloud sat down beside him, she was still feeling uncomfortable at the stares, so she stared down at her laps and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, please stop staring at me." She thought and like as if Zack read her mind… "Guys please stop staring at the girl, you're making her uncomfortable." He spoke up and Cloud silently thanked him.

Lazard cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "So Miss…"

"Cloud…Cloud Strife" She answered, looking up at Lazard.

"Where are you from?" He asked as everyone paid rapped attention.

Cloud was silent for a moment as she looked at the strange blond before her, she stared as if debating with herself whether to answer or not. "I can't remember." She answered.

"Hm…Okay. Sephiroth and Zack found you in the reactor, do you have any idea how you got there?" Lazard asked.

Cloud thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Well, what is the last thing you remember?" He asked, putting his hands on the glass table.

Cloud sank into her seat and furrowed her slender brows and you just had to admit that the blond looked cute, even if she didn't know it. "Hm…" She began. "I was on my way here…I think…"

"Really, why were you heading here?" Genesis asked more curious than ever.

"I…I wanted to try out for SOLDIER" She answered and literally everyone in the room raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked innocently.

"And you were how old exactly?" Angeal asked.

"Thirteen" She answered with confidence. "SOLDIER accepts kids don't they…or…or they don't anymore?" She asked unsure.

"Of course they do sport" Zack answered ruffling her hair.

"Don't touch my hair" She whispered angrily at Zack before smoothen it out.

Lazard cleared his throat to get their attention once more. "Did you get here?"

"Yeah…I think. They gave me this form thing to fill and said I should hand in my medical report" She sighed "I…I don't really remember" She confessed and then frowned.

"So what happened next?" Zack asked.

"I don't know…Something about Jenova and mako…" She groaned softly and held the side of her head.

"Mako, only SOLDIERs are exposed to mako" Sephiroth said becoming more alert.

_'__So many voices…bright… really, really bright light, sinking fast…It's so cold' _Thoughts ran through her head, making her shut her eyes tight in an attempt to focus on one voice in her head, her voice.

"Cloud, are you alright?" Zack asked feeling a bit concerned at the way she was acting.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just a headache." She said, then shook her head and opened her eyes.

Lazard sighed. "I am very sorry for pushing you Miss Strife" He apologized genuinely. "I forgot to put into consideration the fact that you are just recovering. When you feel better we'll talk, how does that sound?"

"Good." She answered and then put her hands on her laps.

"So did you make it into SOLDIER?" Zack shot her another question, but was denied an answer when her tummy rumbled, loudly.

Cloud cheeks turned tomato red. "Y…You didn't let me have breakfast." She pointed an accusing finger at Zack.

"That's only because, _you_ wasted so much time doing Gaia knows what, in the bathroom" He shot back.

"But you're the one who wanted me to try out this dress."

"But I promised to take you out for breakfast, didn't I?" He asked as a matter-of-fact.

"How do I know you won't break your promise, eh, Mr. Zachary Fair?" She asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

Zack blushed a bit and then raised his arms a little bit above his head. "Excuse me Lazard, but I have a young lady here who is apparently hungry" He said and then stood.

"You try taking only liquid for two weeks straight" She stood up after him.

"Hope you like chocolates" He said and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Ew, no, I prefer vanilla" She said as he led her out the door

"I'll be right back." He said dutifully to all of them before leaving with her.

All through their argument no one said a word; they just looked at them in awe. "Love" Genesis cooed.

"I don't think that's it." Angeal said.

"Zachary and women, will he ever change?" Sephiroth thought smirking to himself.

**A/N; Please tell me if it's boring, I'll stop. If it's not, hope you like it. Pwease review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks , I have seen the story from a new perspective. *Chuckles evilly* Thanks again. Oh, and I appreciate all my readers and reviewers**

Zack had never been so horrified in all his life. What was happening now was even worse than Hojo using him for mako experiments...Okay, fine, what was happening before him wasn't that bad. Cloud had ordered virtually everything on the menu and was gobbling it down hungrily and frankly quite greedily. Zack wasn't horrified by that, he was horrified at the fact that he didn't have enough gil to pay for it.

"D...Dish duty, dish duty…Oh the shame, the horror, a hero like me" Zack thought sulkily. "She didn't even bother to share it with me."

Cloud looked up from her third bowl of rice; she noticed that Zack was radiating a depressive aura "Zack, what's wrong?" She asked

Zack ruffled his hair; ashamed to admit that he didn't have enough money. "Maybe I could just beg them…Since I'm a regular customer here" He considered. "Oh the shame…"

"Zack?" She called again.

"You're eating like someone who's with child" Zack blurted out.

Cloud stopped eating and stared at him for a considerable amount of time before going back to the food.

The waitress had arrived to collect the money. Zack was about to make a very good excuse and if it didn't work, he and Cloud could be on dish duty together and if anybody asked, he'd tell them that they are sibling and he was helping her out, really Zack, really. But alas, it seemed that good fortune was on his side today, as Angeal had showed up just before the excuse was made.

Zack had dumped half the bill on Angeal and being the man Angeal is, he refused. After much asking and persuasion (see begging) Angeal agreed to pay half, on the terms that Zack would have to pay him back.

"Soooo…Zack, how many girlfriends do you have?" Cloud asked once they entered Zack's car.

"Yes I do" He blurted out once again.

Cloud and Angeal looked at him confused. "Yes you do what?" Angeal asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zack coughed. "What I meant to say was…I have only one and her name is Aerith and so you know, I am very interested in her as she is in me, end of discussion."

Cloud stared at him as he started the car and began driving. "Am I wearing her clothes?" She asked, gripping onto the scarf and furrowing her eyebrows.

Zack didn't answer, but instead picked up the speed.

"Ahhh, so this are her clothes. It smells like flowers." She said in realization. "And you made 'you picked it out' sound like as if you bought it."

"I did pick out…Kinda. I told her I wanted something warm for a sick person to wear."

"…Sick person?" She asked. "I am not sick!" She said, raising the pitch of her voice.

"Don't bother me woman, I'm driving!"

"…Whatever"

Angeal just stared at the two. They were arguing as if they had known each other for a long time_. 'Well, with Zack's personality, I can't say __I'm __surprised'_ Angeal thought and then rolled his eyes. "I'm still getting my money" He stated.

Angeal had coming looking for Zack because they had both been assigned on a mission. It was a mission to stop a rampaging monster on the outskirts of Midgar, and they were going to return by morning.

"Okay, since you are broke and homeless…" Zack began saying to Cloud.

"Jeez, thanks for pointing out the obvious" She said dryly.

"You can stay with Aerith. She's very nice and will accept you once you tell her you are a friend of mine."

"Of course, after she gave her clothes to someone you barely know and someone she hasn't met, I don't see why she wouldn't accept me"

"You know, for someone who doesn't know where she comes from; you sure do talk a lot and you looked nicer when you were asleep." Zack retorted

"Thank you." She said plainly. "So where does Aerith live?"

"Sector 7. When you get there ask for the flower girl's shop"

"She's that popular?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her hand over her chest.

"It will surprise you. So if you need help, ask Sephiroth…" Zack had told her a couple more things before leaving. "Bye." He shouted from down the hall

"Bye." She shouted back.

Lazard sat behind his desk in his large office, going through some files labeled 'classified' and chuckling in amusement. "In all my boring years of working for Shinra, this is going to be the most fun I'll ever have and it's all thanks to Zack, Sephiroth and a strange young girl." He said to himself and then chuckled again before sending for his secretary.

"Sir" The female answered as she entered.

"Get me Sephiroth and Genesis"

"Yes sir" Was all she said before leaving.

Cloud wandered the HQ, looking for Sephiroth because Zack didn't tell her how to get to Sector 7 and she didn't want to go out on her own and end up get lost, kidnapped or slash and killed, in that order respectively. She had initially been asking some of the workers for help, but stopped after she noticed the strange looks she was getting from them.

"Aargh! Why does this stupid building have so many floors?" She asked in frustration after ending up on the 35th floor, again. Apparently, being nice and letting people ride with you in an elevator in a building like this is a very, very terrible idea. She reached the 51st floor and decided to resort to yelling out his name until he gets so embarrassed and comes out to shut her up or until people passing by brings it to his attention that a young blonde girl with hair that vaguely resembles a Chocobo's ass is hollering his name like a crazy person on this floor.

"Seph…" She began, but stopped after she saw him coming out of a room alongside Genesis. "Sephiroth!" She called, getting his and Genesis's attention.

"Oh, just the person we were about to look for" Genesis said gleefully.

"Okay" She said in an awkward manner. "Hey Sephiroth, do you know how to get to sector 7?"

"Sector 7, what are you looking for in sector 7?" Sephiroth asked suspiciously.

"Zack's girlfriend lives there and I'm going to spend the night at her house" Her answer was straight to the point.

"That boy" Sephiroth sighed. "Do you know what could happen to you if you go there?"

Cloud shrugged. "Is his girlfriend a bad person?"

"No…I don't know...You could get lost, kidnapped and killed" Sephiroth said as a matter of fact.

"Hey, that's what I said, only that I have a chance of living with an 'or'"

Genesis yawned pointedly. "Let's go to a place where you wouldn't get lost, kidnapped or slash and killed" He said and then began leading her towards the elevator with Sephiroth behind them.

"Where's that?"

"Our place" He answered.

"Our?" She asked confused.

"Oh yeah, Lazard's making all of us; me, you, Sephiroth, Angeal and Zack, room together" He said gleefully.

"What?" She asked utterly dumbfounded.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh you heard me" Genesis said grinning from ear to ear as they all stepped into the elevator.

"B…B…But you're all…You know…Men, and Ima girl"

"It won't be that bad, just think of it like this" He began "Sephiroth's the dad, I'm the godfather, Angeal's the uncle and Zack's the brother"

"Excuse me. What?" Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow. "Lazard said we should live together and take care of Cloud. He never mentioned anything about family"

"What are you saying?" Cloud asked utterly confused. "I can't live with men"

"Oh don't worry, we're decent" Genesis assured. "Besides, if you were training to be SOLDIER, you'll have to work, train and probably live with boys and they might not be decent" Genesis said as a matter of fact.

Cloud blushed faintly and crossed her arms over her chest. "T...That's not what I meant…Who's gonna be the mom, eh?"

"We're going to manage just fine, Cloud-chan" He grinned again and then Cloud gave Sephiroth a confused look.

He shrugged. "Don't look at me; there is no way in the world I am playing dad to a thirteen year old girl and besides, I am just following orders."

"Thirteen! I am not thirteen!" She protested.

"That's right, we haven't told you yet" Genesis said.

"Told me what?"

"Flashback" Genesis announced cheerfully.

_Flashback_

_ Sephiroth and Genesis stepped into Lazard's office fifteen minutes after he had sent for them. He had stopped smiling and now had a stern face on._

_"__You sent for us?" Sephiroth asked._

_"__Yes I did" He confirmed. Lazard had taken his time to explain to them why Hojo was experimenting on Cloud and how the experiments and the preserving of her body had affected her growth._

_"__So, what are you trying to say?" Genesis asked confused._

_"__She may have been born seventeen years ago, but due to Hojo's unnatural intervention, her body stopped growing and so therefore, she is seventeen but is stuck in the body of a thirteen year old."_

_"__Oh" Genesis gasped in realization._

_"__So, what do you what us to do?" Sephiroth asked suspiciously._

_"__Hojo is going to try and mess with her again and you four are going to protect her." He answered._

_"__Four?" Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow_

_"__Zack, Angeal, Genesis and yourself" _

_"__Piece of cake" Genesis said gleefully._

_"__That's not all. In order to ensure maximum protection, I am ordering that you five live together."_

_"__What?" Sephiroth and Genesis said in unison._

_"__Wouldn't the president find out?" Sephiroth retorted._

_"__Rufus is well aware of the presence of the girl and approved of my plans."_

_"__We are going to be living together, hm, interesting" Genesis mused._

_"__All your belongings have been moved to the new apartment and there is a car waiting downstairs to take you there" He informed. "That will be all." He said and with that dismissed them. _

_End of flashback._

"What?" Cloud yelled angrily.

"It wouldn't be that bad, you get to stay up late and eat whatever you want." Genesis smiled.

"I am not going anywhere with you: one, because I don't believe you, and two, I am NOT living with men." She said then stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest and stiffened herself.

Genesis had tried reasoning with her, all to no avail, by the time they had reached the lobby; she refused to leave the elevator and insisted that she goes to Aerith's place. "Oh come on, you might end up liking it." Genesis said.

"No!" She said stubbornly.

"Okay that's it." Sephiroth sighed and did the most unorthodox thing. He walked over to her, picked her up and put her on his shoulder.

"What the hell?" She was about to protest.

"If you utter another word, I will impale you with Masamune." He threatened, and accepting the fact that she did not want to get impaled by a Masamune, she kept quiet.

Genesis laughed, as he walked behind his friend with the girl on his shoulder. Everyone glanced at him, but only briefly, afraid of acquiring the general's wrath and by the time they had left the lobby, everyone started whispering. Once outside, Sephiroth put her down and ordered her to get into the car. The ride was short and quiet, Genesis was reading Loveless, Sephiroth was looking outside the window taking note of the new environment and Cloud sat still between them with her arms crossed, radiating an aura filled with anger and defeat.

"We're here." The driver said, stopping the car in front of an apartment building. The driver had gotten down to open the door for them and led them to the penthouse.

"Isn't it nice Cloud?" Genesis asked enthusiastically. He went upstairs to look around. "They even labelled our rooms with our names."

"Oh joy." Sephiroth said dryly before he and Cloud went upstairs. Sephiroth went into his room, removing the label on the way, for nap and Cloud went into her room to check it out.

"I don't have any clothes!" She exclaimed.

"Oh don't worry, you'll go shopping tomorrow." Genesis said, stepping into the room.

"Toiletries?"

"Tomorrow"

"Dinner?"

"Take outs"

"In the morning?"

"Pancakes"

"Who's gonna make 'em?"

"The cook"

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Cloud asked, already feeling exhaustion creeping in.

"I'm going to be the best godfather ever" Genesis beamed

**I think Genesis would make a good godfather, don't ya? *Sigh* Pwease tell me what u think about this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, I'm back!I am so sorrrrry. The computer malfunctioned; I lost all my stories and the computer *cries*. I just got a new one and so therefore, updates and new chapters. Please Read and Review, because if you do, fem Cloud and Sephiroth promise to deliver homemade cookies to you…just between you and me, don't eat it *whispers* I don't think they know how to bake or cook. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final fantasy...we all wish we did.**

**Warning: OOC.**

"Now, let me tell you something weird. How this happened, only Genesis can explain. It started with a simple question..."

"Who are you talking to?" Sephiroth asked irritated.

"The mirrors" Cloud yelled from the changing room.

"Hurry up!" He said with a scowl (that Cloud could not see) plastered on his face.

"Jeez, I'm not the one who asked you to come along" She muttered, as she tried on a pair of black skinny jeans.

"I heard that."

"Good." She shot back.

Sephiroth sighed. He had a disguise on; a black sombrero, black sunglasses and civilian clothes. "I for one think that, playing the game of the rock, the paper and the scissors to determine ones fate is utterly ridiculous."

"You're just saying that because you lost." Cloud muttered, as she walked out of the changing room. She wore a sleeveless denim jacket over a black tank top, skinny jeans and lace boots. "Rock crushes scissors, just as C comes before S and dessert before dinner."

"It's dinner before dessert." Sephiroth corrected dryly, as they walked over to the check out point.

"Hello?" The blonde woman greeted, throwing a questioning look at Sephiroth

"He thinks he's a vampire, it's sad." Cloud said, shaking her sympathetically.

"Oh" The woman said sadly. "Hold on" She said then went under the counter, only to return with a giant lollipop.

"Oooh" Cloud chirped, immediately snatching the lollipop out of the woman's hand.

"Hold on sweetie, it's for the vampire." She said, throwing a glance at Sephiroth.

"Oh, I see." Cloud said sadly.

"Hey, don't give me that face." The woman scolded playfully. "Hold on" She said then went under counter again, and took out another giant lollipop.

"Hurray!" Cloud cheered as the woman handed her the lollipop.

"Tsk" Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

Cloud chewed on the lollipop, then sucked on it and then licked. Sephiroth tried his best not to pay attention to her as he drove, but it was really hard with the loud chewing sounds she made.

"Hey dad~" She called with all intentions of teasing him.

"I am not your father." He said firmly.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Work."

"You mean Shinra?"

"Yes, Shinra" He sighed.

"Is Zack there?"

"Probably."

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost" He answered. He was starting to get irritated, but his expressionless face and monotonous voice didn't show it.

"Hmmm..." She went back to her lollipop.

"Thank you Gaia." Sephiroth smiled inwardly.

"Do you have a mistress?" She asked. Sephiroth stopped the car abruptly, causing her to jerk forward. He threw her a glare that would have killed her if looks could kill.

"Enough with the questions" He said angrily.

"Oh, so you _do_ have one" She said.

"You are the one right?" He asked rhetorically.

She gasped, faking surprise. "I'd have you know that I'm a minor."

Sephiroth gave her a bored look. "Get out."

"Eh, you're going to leave me in the middle of nowhere?"

"We're already at Shinra."

"Oh" She smiled and practically jumped out of the car.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called.

"Zack!" Cloud shrieked and ran towards him. He was standing in the parking lot beside a black sports car.

"Someone's excited to see me." He said with a grinned.

"You have no idea." She said, stopping in front of him.

"So how's the house?" He asked. Genesis had informed him and Angeal on their current situation the night before.

"It's awesome. I had noodles and fried chicken for dinner, I watched TV until three this morning, Genesis is amazing and Sephiroth took me shopping this morning." She said really quickly.

"Wait, what?" Zack asked, surprise written on his face.

"What?"

"Sephiroth plus shopping… Dear Gaia, the end is near!" He said dramatically.

"Excuse me, what do you mean by that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Ah" Cloud and Zack jumped in surprised.

"Gaia, how does he do that?" Zack asked, placing his hand on his chest.

"Pay attention to your surroundings Zack" Sephiroth said drily, before making his way the building.

"Hmmm" Cloud sucked on her lollipop

"Nice lollipop." Zack said and then followed Sephiorth towards the building.

"Nai car" She said with her tongue sticking out as she walked beside him.

"It's not mine, it's for the president's son" He said.

"Who?"

"Rufus"

"The president's son's named after a dog?"

Zack laughed. "Don't let the Turks hear you." He whispered playfully.

"Who?" She asked confused

"You have a lot to learn." He said and ruffled her hair.

"Don't touch my hair, it will get messy." She said.

"Sure~ cos it was kempt before." He said sarcastically

"I hate you." She said dryly.

"Sure you do." He said sarcastically.

**A.N: Sorry, I know this chapter is short, but I'll try to make the next one longer. **


	7. Chapter 7

"Ew… Gross… oh Minerva, no…" Genesis said as he went through the clothes Cloud bought. He took out black beanie from the shopping bag "Oh, awful" He said, making a face of disgust.

"Hey, that looks cool" Cloud objected. She was seated in Genesis's office, behind his desk and was still sucking on the lollipop, as he went through the clothes she bought.

"Where are the skirts?" He asked surprised.

"I didn't buy any" She answered plainly.

"Oh, you are just like your father."

"Who?"

"Sephiroth" He answered drily. "You both lack a sense of fashion." He expatiated.

"Oh and you have one?" She muttered. "Sephiroth's not my dad." She said drily.

"Yes, as a matter of fact Miss Strife I do." He answered. "We are going to return these, and I will buy you proper lady clothes."

"But I like these clothes." She whined.

"Sure you do" He said sarcastically. "The only good thing I've seen you wear is this dress, and it's not even yours" He said, holding Aerith's dress out.

"I don't like it." She said drily.

"You're stubborn, you know that?"

"I need to go pee tinkle" She said.

"Bathroom's down the hall, to your left."

"Kay!" She said and headed for the door.

"You're not taking that in there are you?" He asked, referring to the lollipop.

"Ew, oh Minerva, no" She said, mimicking what Genesis said earlier.

"Be back in two minutes." He said.

"Aye sir" She said as she did a mocking salute. He sighed as she left his office.

Reno and Rude walked down the hallway, ranting something about Rufus. Rude was a tall muscular man, with tanned skin and shaved head. Reno on the other hand was not quite muscular, but he was tall, he had green eyes and had spiky red head.

"So then Rufus was all like 'You can't pack my car there, I won't allow it!'" Reno said.

"Sure." Rude said, clearly bored.

"Then he was all like 'What happened to my private garage, eh?' and the driver was all like 'It is being renovated sir'"

"Yeah" Rude said drily.

"It was kinda disappointing, I was expecting to see a fight break out." Reno said, sounding disappointed.

"Between President Shinra's son and a drive?" Rude asked.

"La la mi, yeah all the colours in the world, la la mi yeah!" Cloud tried making up a tune as she walked down the hall, then she began running as she got lost in her deafening tune; she made a turn and then... "Ouch"

"Hey!" Reno yelled when Cloud bumped into him. She fell butt first, groaned in pain and the rubbed her back.

Zack sat beside Angeal in the canteen as they had breakfast. The canteen was teeming with infantrymen, who were busy chatting away.

"Today sure is rowdy." Zack said over the noise to Angeal.

"This is the time for their short break." He replied.

Zack sighed and took a spoon full of the unknown atrocity they serve the infantrymen. "Why are we eating here again?"

"Because you had to stop to get comic books on our way back." Angeal answered drily.

"That's not a valid reason"

"This is your punishment; I know you can't stand the food here." Angeal said as a matter of fact.

"Hey…" Zack was about to argue when his phone rang. "Hello?" He said.

"Did you give Cloud here pass yesterday?" Sephiroth asked over the phone.

"Pass, what pass?" He asked confused.

"…"

"Oh" Zack said when realization dawned on him.

"Yes, oh" Sephiroth said drily.

"Hey watch where you're…" She stopped short when she glared Reno straight in the eyes.

"Hey you're the one that should watch where she's going!" He yelled. "And who the hell are ya, eh?"

"Eh?" She asked confused.

"Hey!" Reno yelled.

"What?" She snapped.

"I asked you a question?"

"No need to yell, Reno." Rude said.

"Who are you kid? Where's your pass?" Rude asked.

"Pass?" She asked confused.

"Oh Gaia, it's another of Sephiroth's fan girl." Reno said before face palming.

"What?" Cloud said. "No way ever, will I consider myself a Sephiroth fan girl." She objected.

"Come on kid, we've heard enough." Reno said and picked her off the ground and put her on his shoulder.

"Hey, I need to pee tinkle!" She yelled

"Pee tinkle? What are you, five?" He asked.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Kicking you out." Rude answered.

"Put me down or I'll scream!"

"Do you know who we are?" Reno asked.

"We're Turks" Rude answered.

"I don't care, ZACK!" She screamed. "Hey! I know Sephiroth and Genesis and Angeal and Zack." She screamed.

"Oh, good for you" Reno said sarcastically.

"Aargh" Cloud sighed in frustration and then gave Reno a hard blow on the head.

"Ouch" Reno yelled and threw Cloud on floor.

"Ouch." Cloud groaned.

"Okay, that's it kid! You're under arrest for assaulting a Turk" Reno yelled.

"You can't arrest me!"

"Why not?" Reno yelled.

"It's Christmas" She answered

"No it's not, and even if it was Christmas, I'd still arrest you."

"Aargh" Cloud gave a throaty sigh. "Back off!" She yelled.

"Rude help me, you know I ain't good with this type of situation." Reno whispered loudly.

"There you are Cloud" Zack said, making them turn their attention to him.

"Yo Zack, you know this kid?" Reno asked.

"Of course, she's my little sister" He said and walked over to help her up. "I forgot to give her pass, silly me"

"I almost got kicked out by red and frowny here" She whispered to him.

"Let's head to Genesis's office" Zack said and began leading her down the hall.

"But I haven't peed yet." She said

"Zack has a sister?" Reno asked Rude. "He never talks about her" Reno said but Rude shrugged in reply.

"You'll pee later." Zack said.

"Come on" Cloud whined.

"She may have a sharp mouth, but she's not bad looking" Reno said, checking her out with a grin.

"She's obviously a minor Reno" Rude cautioned.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final fantasy…We wish we all did.**

Zack pulled Cloud down the hall towards Genesis's office. He was a little bit nervous but was mostly upset with Cloud.

"Zack let go!" She whined, clawing at his wrist.

"You're drawing attention to yourself." Zack whispered motioning at the people who had stopped to watch.

"But I have to go pee" She whispered.

"Later." He whispered. "You really have to stop picking fights"

"Zack Fair" Someone called from behind. "It time for you to take the third class soldiers for their mako injection."

"Eh?" Zack turned around. "Oh, Andy" He said drily. Andy was teenager who worked in the lab. He was as tall as Zack, had brown hair and deep blue eyes and wore a lab coat "Give me a second" He said.

"Now!" He said. "You should have been there fifteen minutes ago" He snapped.

"Fine, I'm coming, jeez" He said angrily. "Here" He said, handing Cloud a thick blue card.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Your pass" He answered.

"Oh…Um, Zack…What are mako injections for?" She asked quietly.

Zack's eyes widen just for a brief unnoticeable moment. "No need to bother yourself with that." He said with a grin and then ruffled her hair. "Go straight to Genesis's office" Zack said before leaving with Andy.

"But I haven't peed yet." She said to no one in particular. She tightened her grip on the on card. "…Mako injection…"

_"__Be a good girl now, it wouldn't hurt that much." A voice echoed in her head. "After this, you can become SOLDIER"_

"I can become SOLDIER" She muttered.

"Excuse me" Some called, snapping Cloud out of her trance.

"Y…yes" She stammered.

"Do you know where the bathroom is?" A girl asked. She looked about Cloud's age. She had strawberry blonde hair, freckles and a dimple on her left cheek that was noticeable now that she smiling, but the thing about the girl that caught Cloud's attention were her eyes. They shone just like hers, Zack's, Sephiroth's Genesis's and Angeal's.

"…" Cloud stared her dumbfounded for a period of time to consider it as rude.

"Um, excuse me?" The girl shifted uncomfortably.

"S…Sorry." She apologized nervously, mentally slapping herself. "I'm heading there right now, follow me." She said.

"Oh, thanks" The girl said. "Delbin's the name" She said as she followed Cloud down the hall.

"C...Cloud" She said nervously. Cloud shifted her gaze to the ground and smiled nervously. She couldn't explain why, but for some reason those eyes scare her. It's not just Delbin's, Zack's and the others, but their eyes don't frighten her as much as Delbin's eyes are right now.

"Are you okay?" Delbin asked concerned.

"Y...Yes"

"…I like your hairstyle." Delbin complimented.

"Oh, really?" Cloud asked surprised at the compliment and Delbin nodded in reply. "I for one think it looks like a Chocobo's behind." She said and Delbin laughed, lightening up the tense atmosphere.

Tseng walked into Lazard's office with a scowl on his usually expressionless face. Lazard looked up from his work and raised an eyebrow, wondering why the Turk had decided to pay him a visit.

"It's quite rear for you to pay me a visit." Lazard said drily.

"Reno and Rude told me" Tseng said, going straight to the point.

"Told you what?" Lazard asked, truly clueless.

"Zack's _sister. _She's small, has blonde hair and glowing blue eyes."

"You must be talking about Cloud." He said then sighed. "What about Zack's _sister_?" He asked.

"You do know who she is, right?" He asked.

"No, please do tell." Lazard said.

"Hojo has been experimenting secretly and without permission, he has been trying to create another Sephiroth.

"Isn't that what Shinra is trying to do." Lazard asked pointedly. "So why does this one make it any different?"

"It's an assumption, but we believe he is trying to recreate Jenova."

Lazard sniggered at this. "What? Create another Jenova? How does he intend to recreate an extra terrestrial being?"

"We don't know that yet, but we are pretty sure Cloud's involved in his scheme."

"Oh really?" He said sarcastically.

"Hojo sent out her name and face to everyone under him, and he has a _lot _of people under him."

Lazard raised an eyebrow. "The SOLDIER firsts and Zack have it under control."

"She'll be safer with the Turks."

"Are you saying the SOLDIERS aren't competent?"

"I'm saying she'll be safer with us." Tseng said, obviously getting irritated.

"Hm…I'll think about it." Lazard said and went back to his work, a clear indication for Tseng to leave.

"She's a child; she'll become inquisitive and start asking questions, and when those questions aren't answered, she'll go out looking for answers, that's when he'll catch her."

"I wouldn't let that happen." Lazard said and with that Tseng left.

Zack laid on the operation table, awaiting his mako injections from Hojo. He had ensured all the third class SOLDIER under his care had taken their shots and now it was his turn, he cringed a bit at the thought.

"So Zack how was your week?" Hojo asked with the nicest voice he could muster.

Zack glared at him suspiciously and then shrugged. Hojo never starts a conversation, ever. "It was fine, I guess" He answered drily.

"So Zack…" Hojo began and jabbed him with the first injection. Zack winced. "I hear you have a new girlfriend" He said.

"Really?" Zack asked innocently.

"Oh you know; small, blonde, blue eyes." He said and jabbed him with the second needle, infusing his body with another round of mako.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell" He said and then groaned slightly in pain.

"Really?" He said, removing the injections.

"You're extra chatty today Hojo." Zack said drily.

"I didn't notice." He said and jabbed him with the third and final needle. "You've never seen what I do with samples that try to escape or rebel, have you" He said darkly.

Zack raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"Well, that's fortunate, isn't it?" He grinned wickedly and removed the needle.

"Jeez" Zack muttered and rubbed the needle spots on his arm. He glared at Hojo then made to leave.

"Say hi to your girlfriend for me." He said as Zack left.


End file.
